The Phoenix Suns need to make the most of their much-needed 5-day break

More than any team outside of Philadelphia, the Phoenix Suns badly needed a break. Thankfully, after enduring a brutal gauntlet of tough opponents, nonstop games and a cascading number of injuries over the last three weeks, they’re finally getting one.

And make no mistake about it: Things need to look a lot different coming out of this five-day break leading up to the Suns’ next game.

For starters, Phoenix’s 12 games over the last 21 days are tied for the most in the league over that stretch. They’ve basically played every other day since Halloween, with two back-to-backs thrown in.

“It’s not gonna be our last stretch like this, but yeah, it’s just a grind, especially when you’ve got guys down,” Tyus Jones said. “But we just gotta continue to fight, continue to get better, stay together, not let this get our spirit down and know that it’ll be good for us in the long run.”

Their schedule hasn’t been favorable from a matchup standpoint either, since the only sure fire lottery team they’ve encountered over this 1-6 skid has been the Utah Jazz. Facing the league’s top-two defenses and the team that swept Phoenix out of the playoffs last year didn’t help either.

But most importantly, the Suns have been pretty banged up over the last seven games. Kevin Durant’s missed all seven with a left calf strain, and Bradley Beal’s missed the last five with his own left calf strain. Grayson Allen missed a few games with hamstring soreness. Jusuf Nurkic has been limited by a sprained left ankle, and after Wednesday’s 138-122 loss to the New York Knicks, he revealed he had tweaked his other ankle recently too.

So yes, this scheduling quirk of a five-day break will feel like a godsend for a group that’s currently reeling on multiple levels.

“When the schedule comes out, it doesn’t look like it’s something that you’d ever ask for, but maybe there’s some kind of silver lining in a five-day break,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We can get in the gym, we can look at things, we can figure out how to be better. So when you get a break like this, you gotta take advantage of it in a lot of different ways.”

For Devin Booker, who’s been on the receiving end of nonstop double-teams that have made his life hell lately, these next five days are an opportunity to restore the good vibes that were in abundance just a few weeks ago.

“Yeah, I think it’s an important time just to get the guys healthy and just regroup,” Booker said. “Come in with the same energy that we had to start the season and get back rolling.”

Suns badly need to recharge and a reset

It’s easy to forget, but when the Suns were whole, they looked like the team Phoenix has been waiting for. Ever since Durant went down (and Beal joined him on the sidelines), however, they’ve spiraled:

• First 9 games: 8-1 record (T-2nd in NBA), 7-0 in crunch-time (1st), +3.3 point differential (11th), 114.1 offensive rating (11th), 110.9 defensive rating (9th)
• Last 7 games: 1-6 record (29th in NBA), 0-2 in crunch-time (27th), -9.9 point differential (28th), 110.7 offensive rating (19th), 121.1 defensive rating (28th)

In the grand scheme of things, playing Body Language Doctor in November is a pointless exercise. But it’s pretty clear the Suns are frustrated at the moment, and a few days without games gives them an opportunity to rest up and collect themselves again. That may be just what the doctor — body language or otherwise — ordered.

“Losing’s hard, this league is hard,” Budenholzer said. “So we gotta fight through it, we gotta compete our way through it. But while there’s things that we need to work on and improve, the competitiveness of our group has been in a good place when we were winning, and I would still say the same thing right now while we’re struggling.”

The biggest boost will be getting one or both of Durant and Beal back in the near future. Phoenix’s next game isn’t until Tuesday on the first night of a back-to-back, and Durant’s two-week timetable for re-evaluation is on Sunday. Assuming he continues to progress well, he could be available for the Los Angeles Lakers matchup on Tuesday, or for Wednesday’s followup against the Brooklyn Nets.

Before the Knicks loss, Budenholzer noted they’re being careful with Durant since he’s dealt with this calf injury as recently as the Olympics. But KD’s obviously itching to return, and both he and Beal are progressing well.

“I think both of them are putting great work in,” Budenholzer said. “They’re both making good progress. We feel good about what they’re doing with the medical team. A five-day break is very strange, but in this case, when you’re talking about Brad Beal and Kevin Durant and maybe a chance to have them heal and recover and be available soon, could be a blessing or a silver lining for the five days.”

Nurkic, meanwhile, was able to play against New York after missing the Suns’ last game against the Orlando Magic. He had a much better performance than he’s had in a while, but the next five days will give him a chance to get both his ankles back up to full health.

“It’s a both ankles, so it’s like you twist it a little bit here and there and then just keep playing and they get a little worse,” Nurkic said. “Try to battle, but I’m just trying to be out there for my teammates if I can, try to be smart at the same time.”

Getting whole — and getting back two of their three best players — will undoubtedly help the Suns return to form, but even taking injuries into account, there’s no question this group has underperformed recently. They lost winnable games against the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves, got smacked around by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks, and have generally looked hapless at times over this stretch.

Adversity has hit far sooner than expected, but the Suns view it as an opportunity to grow since it’s still so early in the season.

“I think it’s a great for our team to see what we’re down for and how we’re gonna answer and challenge us,” Nurkic said. “It’s always fun when you’re winning and having nice days, but it’s the NBA season. You’re gonna have up and downs, and it’s better now than later.”

“These guys, I think, stay together,” Budenholzer added. “They’ve got a good spirit, they’ve got a good way about ’em — through good times and the hard times. You’ve gotta keep doing, coming to work, put in your individual time, put your team time in, and keep your head up. So this group will do that. They’re very good, they’re very resilient.”

Frustration during a losing streak is natural. Booker’s been double-teamed left and right, and he’s been hot and cold, trading 44-point performances against Minnesota and 33-point outings against the Knicks with 2-for-10 shooting nights against OKC and 5-for-14 outings against Orlando.

He’s making the right passes out of those doubles, and the Suns’ ball movement has actually been fairly good in those situations. But too many of Phoenix’s shooters have gone ice-cold. The Suns actually jumped from 39.4 3-point attempts per game during their 8-1 start to 42.6 per game during the 1-6 skid, but their efficiency’s plummeted from 38.3 percent (seventh in the NBA) to just 34.6 percent (20th).

Looking at the numbers, Royce O’Neale, Ryan Dunn and Jusuf Nurkic have really struggled in particular.

• Royce O’Neale first 9 games: 10.4 PPG, 53.2 FG%, 52.6 3P%
• Royce O’Neale last 7 games: 8.4 PPG, 29.6 FG%, 29.5 3P%
• Ryan Dunn first 9 games: 6.8 PPG, 45.5 FG%, 39.4 3P%
• Ryan Dunn last 7 games: 7.1 PPG, 39.6 FG%, 26.7 3P%
• Jusuf Nurkic first 9 games: 11.0 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 47.1 FG%, 34.6 3P%
• Jusuf Nurkic last 7 games: 5.2 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 25.8 FG%, 23.5 3P%

But despite a few role players struggling to adjust to life without KD and Beal, the team has remained steadfast in their approach, doling out constructive criticism in order to try and right the ship.

“I think it’s just speaking the truth, and nobody likes to lose,” Mason Plumlee said. “We’re all competitors, that’s what’s gotten us to this point, and I think just being able to critique or point things out without it becoming personal or you start blaming people for stuff. I think that’s when teams fall apart. So that’s not the case here, we’re on the same page trying to get it done.”

Despite what the above numbers indicate, it hasn’t all been bad either. Role players have had to take on more responsibility, and while they’re struggling to consistently step up to the challenge, this type of trial by fire is invaluable for younger guys like Dunn and Oso Ighodaro.

“The benefit of having the great start that we did, we gave ourselves a little cushion, so if you look at the season in 10-game increments, we still have 60, 70 games to go,” Booker explained. “So a lot of learning experience for the young guys and just for all of us. You never know later in the season when somebody might be thrown in the fire or another injury could possibly happen.”

O’Neale (17 points, 5-of-10 shooting from deep) and Nurkic (14 points, 12 rebounds, 3-of-5 shooting from deep) got back on track offensively against New York, which will hopefully carry over after this break. Tyus Jones (15 points and 10 assists on 6-of-13 shooting) and Monte Morris (10 points on 4-of-6 shooting) enjoyed bounce-back nights as well.

With five days to mentally and physically recharge, log some valuable practice time, and maybe even get their three best players back on the court, the hope is that this 1-6 stretch will amount to a temporary hiccup for a team that looked the part not that long ago.

“There’s times where we’re gonna be playing great ball, there’s times where we’re gonna be struggling to get a win like right now, and you just gotta continue to push through,” Jones said. “You gotta try to just stay somewhere in the middle and just try to continue to improve as a group, because we know what our goals are, and you can’t win a championship in November.”